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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — letters
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — to come down
  8. chip — for betting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. net — for catching
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — a country
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — magic
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — ground
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com